Dead of the Night
by Staggered Crossing
Summary: A story about the events of Keith Molen's life leading up to the mission in Bealton. Terry is a friend of mine and has given me permission to use this character. Enjoy!
1. Default Chapter

Dead of the Night  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Keith Molen had been the best in the force. He kept his ass out of trouble and made sure he got to nail someone's ass to the wall in a fire fight. But that all had ended last week when he was tried and convicted of murder of a government official. Everyone on the police force knew that it wasn't his fault and it was the bastard chief of police but everyone else needed their paycheck, so they closed their eyes and walked away. He had been 24 at the time and spent 4 grueling years in a North Dakota state prison, where if you ever dropped the soap, the show was over. Keith had caused more than enough rukus in that hellhole as to earn him another few years but some executive of some corporation was watching his ass. One day, a representative from the unknown corporation made an appearance. The guards came to his cell in the middle of the night and hauled his ass into a cement conference room. After his eyes adjusted to the brighter lighting, Keith saw that the man was draped in a long, beige trench coat. He turned to face Keith and spoke in a hardened voice, " Ah, Mr. Molen. How nice of you to join me. "  
" Hey man, these fuckers are the ones that brought me here. I had nothing to do with it. "   
" Yes, of course. I have come here at this ungodly hour to make a proposal. "  
" Aight, I'm listening. "  
" I am a silent partner in the Umbrella Corporation and I have been sent to give you a place among the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Services or UBCS. You will be freed immediately , upon your agreement, and given a large condo in L.A., a beginning salary of $50 000 a year, " Trent paused before continuing, " Of course if you choose to deny this offer, you remain here. " Trent waved his hand around Keith's current accomodations.   
" Sounds good, but one question. "  
Trent smiled and replied " Anything. "  
" What the fuck is the UBCS? "  
" They deal with corporations mistakes and problems. Anything other than that will be revealed in time. "  
" Well then Mr. Trent, get me the fuck outta here! "  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Keith was sleeping on his new couch in his beach side condo when the phone rang. He sprang up and rushed to the phone. " Hello? " He recognized the voice on the other end as Jim's, an executive he had met on the day of his release. " Hey Keith, we got your first mission lined up. Be at the L.A. branch in half an hour ready to depart. Bring your fatigues, we'll supply the rest. " The line went dead before Keith culd say yes, no or eat shit, but all he knew that was he had half an hour to make a 45 minute trip. His complimentary corvette skidded into the parking lot with 3 minutes to spare. Shit. Gotta find the elevator. He blew by the receptionist but she called out to him. " Mr. Molen, you're going the wrong way. The group is waiting for you in the eastern lobby. This way please. " Keith happily followed the blonde receptionist. He entered the lobby and saw 6 other peoples waiting near Trent. " Keith, right on time. Let's start the briefing. You have been called into Chistoval, Texas to handle an outbreak. Even though you will be sent in as a team, you each have your own idividual objectives. BEyond the far door, you each will find a bag with your names on it which contain your weapons and information. Now for introductions, To my immediate left is Jesse Mirage, ex- car thief and the best stealth fighter in all of Canada. " The man nodded his head allowing his long hair to slide in front of his eyes. " Beside Mirage is Kris Creger, the best assasin in all of Montana. To the right of Creger is Jake Donovan. Beside Donovan is Keith Molen, convicted murderer and weapons expert. To the right of Keith is Carlos Chavez. Next to Chavez is Donald Peled. Finally, next to Peled is Daniel O'Toole. Now, we have to be in Texas airspace by 2100 hours. You have 3 minutes to grab your bag read your individual orders and get on the chopper to start the mission. GO!! " At those final words, the mercenaries rushed out and charged through the door. Keith was the last one through so he instinctively grabbed the last bad and read his name off the side of the bag. He boarded the chopper and opened the bag to find an M41 assault rifle, fully loaded and with 6 extra clips, giving him the distinct impression that the rifle was his primary weapon. His secondary weapon was a H&K .45 ACP also fully loaded with 3 clips. In addition to the guns they were each given 2 Chezch-34 anti-personnel hand grenades. Keith stuffed the extra clips into his vests many chests pockets and holstered the handgun. He placed the 2 grenades into his sidepack and held the rifle with a familiar grip. His stomach wrenched as the chopper took off. Keith silently cursed himself for forgetting to read his orders. He ripped open the envelope as the others did the same. He examined a map and read the single typed sheet. It read " After landing you will depart for the Umbrella Factory on the ouskirts of the city where you will find the labs and set up the multiple blast charges left for you in the lab areas. Also you must delete all records on the Corporate Computer network. After the charges are set, you have 7 minutes to find the emergency elevator and get on the train which will take you to the extraction point on the abandoned Air Force Base. Good Luck. " Keith examined the map again and folded it up and put in his bac pocket. He could only assume that the others recieved similar orders. Suddenly the chopper door opened. " Alright men, good luck, see you at the extraction point. Move out. " Trent finished and the comandos charged out o the plane, anxiois already to go home after the mission and collect their due pay. Keith headed east and entered an old diner which lead to 63rd street which would allow him to continue on his mission. He saw that Jesse was heading the same way. Keith stopped and allowed Jesse to catch up.   
" Sent to blow up a lab? " Jesse inquired.  
" Ya. Guess we're going to the same party. " Keith immediately thought that the 2 would get along fine. They entered the diner without error. But they were horrified with what they found. No one was in the diner and the walls were covered in blood. For a bustling city there should have been someone in the diner but more importantly why was there blood on the walls.   
Jesse was the first to speak, " The fuck? " Keith entered the kitchen to find a chef lying on the ground, dead.  
" Jesse, come here. I found something. " When he turned back around to keep combing the kitchen, the chef was on his feet and lurching towards him. Keith was shocked to see the chefs torso bloody and tore open. " Oh, Shit!!! " Keith ran back into the table area to find Jesse facing the same threat but on a larger scale. Jesse was firing his rifle at 3 of the undead creatures. Keith ran to Jesse's side and opened fire. Keith fired a single round into one the creatures head and the creature immediately dropped.   
" Aim for the head! " Keith screamed to be heard over the automatic fire. Jesse obviously heard him because he fired 2 more rounds into the remaining creatures heads. Seeing that Jesse had the situation handled he moved back into the kitchen to end the creatures reamining life. BAM!! The creature dropped. Jesse ran out the door back to the intersection where the chopper had dropped the mercenaries off. They only saw open roads in all directions, but even that image didn't last long. Within seconds, the streets were being filled with zombies. In the distance they could hear automatic fire. They rushed back into the diner and fell against the door.  
" Sounds like the shit hit the fan, " Jesse commented. " Well, we're fucked. We're in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the undead and we got now way outta here other than trekking across town to the labs. " Keith checked his weapons and turned to face him.   
" Do we have any other choice?" Keith asked.  
"Nope." Jesse replied and Keith knew they were screwed.  
  
Please read and review. Also check out the story "Dark Nights" by my friend Terry. Thank you. 


	2. Dead Of The Night II

Chapter 3  
  
Keith and Jesse made a final weapons check before they left the diner to brave the zombie filled streets. Both of them had 6 full mags for both primary and secondary weapons after scrounging around in the back room of the Diner.  
" Almost like that the citizens knew that the zombies were coming and they were making preparations, " Jesse said as he pocketed the extra clips he found for his handgun.   
" Ya looks like. But there are 2 things I'm worried about right now. The first being getting both of our asses outta here and the second being hunting Trent down and getting some answers. " Keith said with a clear rage in his eyes. Checking their vests, they made sure they hade their anti-personnel grenades in a convient spot, should the need arise. Keith slowly opened the map he was given and examined where they would head after leaving the diner. There closest building would be the library which was northeast of their current position.  
" Guess we head for the library and try to find a way to reach the next destination once we get their. Better to concentrate on getting place to place. " Jesse suggested, memorizing street names and landmarks that would make their journey that much easier. Keith nodded and moved towards the front door. He placed his hand on the knob and slowly turned it. He pulled the door open and was greeted by the site of a group of 3 zombies shambling in their directon. Jesse moved up beside Keith and scanned for another way to go.  
" Damn. Gotta drop those three to keep going. "  
Keith moved out from the door way and stepped ot the right side of the doorway with his back to the wall, allowing them both to have a clear shot at the small group that had noticed their appearance. Keith opened fire on the zombies that was closest to him.  
BAM!  
The zombies head burst in a spray of tissue and brain matter. Jesse opened fire on the remaining zombies.  
BAM! BAM!  
The last 2 zombies of the group with a rather gruesome burst of skull. The tension in the air lifted as the two mercs realized that they had survived their first encounter with the undead that would have put a flaw in their plans.   
" OK. Right now we're on 64th street. Up ahead is Theros Avenue. We gotta head east on Theros then north on Montroy to get to the library. Let's get going before those shit holes smell us out or however the hell they find us, " Jesse explained, tightening his grip on his rifle as they started to jog down they not-so-quiet street. The sound of their feet slapping against the cold pavement was lost in the groaning and shuffling noises made by the zombies. Keith could see the sign that said that Montroy was the next intersection. Apparently Jesse saw the same sign. Both of the soldiers quickened their steps, knowing that they were getting closer to the library and, hopefully, temporary safety. As they rounded the corner, they stopped dead in their tracks. In the illumination of one of the street lights stood a huge, hulking, Tyrant-like monster. The monster still hadn't seen them so they were safe for a few precious moments. Keith focused his eyes and the street ahead, searching for a sign that they were close to the library. Keith couldn't believe his luck. Two buildings from where they were standing was the library.   
" Jesse, two buildings, north. MOVE!!! " Keith shouted as he started into an all out sprint to the library. Jesse followed close behind. As they reached the doors, they saw the Tyrant start to advance towards. Keith pulled on the door handles with all the strength he could muster after the sprint. The hinges squeaked with age but they opened. They dove through the open doorway and rolled to their feet. Together they pulled a table and braced the door. They stepped back, rifles locked on the door if it the Tyrant broke through and waited.  
SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!  
The two could only watch as a large claw ripped through the door and then retracted. They braced themselves to open fire but the Tyrant's attack ended. They were safe. For now.  
  
Chapter 4  
  
" Ok, now I have three questions for Trent. You know the first two, the other is WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?! " Keith shouted his anger and the library's halls echoed his booming voice.  
" Man, if I knew I would tell you but I don't so our next best option is to search for anything useful then move up to the second floor and search through their too. We check our map, find our next short term hide out and kepp our asses alive. Sound good? " Jesse concluded as he peered out through the hole that the Tyrant had made to see if he could find any major thrats that could break through their rigged brace. Strangely enough, the Tyrant was nowhere to be seen and the zombies were clustered together.   
" Jesse, c'mere. I think I found something. Take a look. It dated exactly three weeks ago.  
  
January 5, 1998  
  
They're everywhere! No matter where I look one of those creatures is after me. It all started when Umbrella set up those labs on the outskirts people have been turning into those goddamn things. The police have blockaded every road leading out of town saying that any civilians that haven't turned should report to the Police Station to form a militia. Fuck them. I holding out here. If anyone finds this, there's a stash of "goods" in the second floor reception room. Code to open the door is 3912. Good luck, though I doubt you'll get past the Lickers.  
  
Victor Karusi  
  
" That narrowed our search a little, wouldn't you say? " Jesse smiled as he took the paper and folded it so it would fit in his side pack along with his extra mags. Keith looked around for a staircase leading up but could find nothing but a coil of rope lying on the floor.  
" Guess that's the only way up..." There was a faint tone as Keith finished his sentence and he saw an elevator door open with Jesse standing by the outer control area.   
" Man, no offense, but look harder next time. " Jesse smiled again as Keith started to show signs o frustration. They entered the elevator and pressed the 2 key. The doors slid closed and started to rise. As the doors opened they coulds see the opened brained creatures that Victor had called "Lickers". Keith and Jesse moved to opposite ends of the elevator so they were shielded and analyzed the situation. There were three lickers in the hall they could see. One on the floor, one hanging from the roof and one crawling along the wall. Keith dropped the two on the ceiling and floor with two short burst from his M41 and Jesse dropped the licker on the wall with a double burst from his M41. They exited the elevator and cautiously moved down the hall. As they turned the corner, they saw 7 zombies munching on a body. They opened fire and the blood and tissue from the zombies splatterd grotesquely along the walls of the gray hall. They moved closer to examine the body once thay had dropped all of the undead and saw that his shirt read Victor.  
" Poor bastard. Died on the way to his own stash. " Jesse said with a tone of humour. They moved up to the door to enter the 4 digit code into the electronic lock. The door opened enough so that you could enter. Keith entered first and sent a silent prayer to whatever God was helping them. On the table were two "clip" side packs which attached to a standard belt. But that wasn't the good part. Inside of the packs were 16 clips; 8 for the "M" series assault rifles and 8 9mm bullet clips used for all types of handguns. Jesse entered the room and dropped top a knee in thanks. He took a side pack for himself.   
" Yo, Jesse, look at the far wall, " Keith said, motioning over to the lockers. They were 2 rusted lockers without locks that stood against the wall. They each opened one locker and saw the gleaming Colt Magnum revolvers. They each slung their M41's over their shoulders and hefted the Colts. They checked the top shelves and saw that there were 6 speed loaders for the Magnums. They stuffed their two remaining pockets with they speed loaders.  
" Keith, someone waants us to get outta here. I say we go show those mother fucking undead bastards that they don't fuck with UBCS. " Jesse said with a rage that couldn't be matched. Keith snapped the chamber of his Colt.  
" I think you're right. "  
  
Please R&R. There's more on they way so keep checking. Thanks for reading.if you have any questions please feel free to e-mail at dareknight@hotmail.com. I don't check e-mail that frequently so it may take awhile to get a reply. thanks again.   



	3. Dead of the Night III

Dead of the Night III  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Keith and Jesse slammed the lockers shut and opened a map on the table to see what there next stop was.   
"Looks like the closest thing is the Music House about three blocks up." Jesse said, running his finger along the easiest path. The trail would lead them through one of Chistovals parks and through an alleyway between to corporate office buildings. Keith walked over to the window and peered outside to see if he could find the Music House. To Keith's frustration, he couldn't see anything. It had become too dark to see past a single block let alone about half a mile. Jesse folded the map back up and shoved it in to his pocket. They turned to each other, nodding, and headed for the door. As Keith reached for the doorknob, they could hear heavy footsteps.  
THUMP!!! THUMP!!! THUMP!!!  
Keith and Jesse moved to either side over the door, Magnums poised to blow the head off of anything that walked through that door.   
SMASH!!!  
The door was ripped open by the Tyrants claw.   
"Out the window, now!" Jesse screamed to be heard over the Tyrants roars. In a few steps Keith and reached the window and had already burst through it. The glass shards were imbedded in his arm, but he quickly moved down the fire escape that was there. Jesse was right behind Keith, diving through the open portal and barrel-rolling when he hit the metal grating. He slid down the ladder with a practiced precision and jumped over the last rail as Keith landed on the ground from the final ladder. They both broke out into an all out run as they heard the Tyrant land behind them  
THUD!!!  
Jesse risked a glance back and saw that the pavement where the Tyrant had landed had caved in. Jesse stopped to fire a .357 bullet into the Tyrants tumor that was his heart. The bullet tore through his flesh and flew out it's back. It was still coming.   
"Oh, SHIT!!!" Jesse cried as he sprinted to catch up with Keith who was rounding the corner into an alley. As Jesse caught up with him, he saw Keith kick open an old rusty side door to a bar. Bits of metal fell to the ground as the door creaked open. As soon as Jesse was in, Keith closed the door and bolted the multiple door bolts. They stood back and raised their Colts to the door. They felt the room shake as the Tyrant threw its weight against it but the door held. They waited for what seemed like an eternity before finally lowering their weapons.   
"That thing doesn't die!" Jesse proclaimed as he plopped on to one of the bar's stools, "It doesn't stop coming!"   
" You're right but I may have something that will slow it down, " Keith said as he raised a Tequila bottle with a gasoline soaked rag in it.   
"Molotov Cocktails. Betcha that'll be his favourite drink after tonight," Jesse cracked to break the tension. Keith smiled and put all of the Molotov's on the counter.   
" This shit ain't good for your health. " Keith said, coughing from the fumes. He walked back to the side door and opened it to see the Tyrant slowly pacing in the alley, as if it was waiting for them. It noticed Keith, seeing as it started to charge. Keith waited until it was in range and hurled the bottle. It hit the Tyrant's midsection and burst open, burning the creature's guts to a crisp. It doubled over in a pool of it's own blood. It started to move and Keith fumbled for his Magnum. Jesse ran up to the Tyrant and put the nozzle to its head.   
"Get up from the this."  
BAM!!!!  
The Tyrants head burst open in a spray of blood and brain tissue covering the walls.  
"I think we just bought ourselves some time," Keith said. He spoke too soon. Lurching from behind him were 7 of the undead. Keith felt their rotting breath on his neck and jumped out of the way just in time. He holstered his Colt and drew his H&K all in one fluid motion.  
BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!!  
The seven zombies' heads exploded, sending a portrait of blood spraying in all directions. They fell and lay in a pool of their own diseased blood.  
"I don't know who did this or why, but they are gonna pay." Keith vowed as he drew his Magnum. Jesse nodded, silently taking the same vow and they left they alley, running at top speed to the Music House.   
  
Chapter 6  
  
They reached the Music House with small problems. They only had to kill half a dozen zombies on their way there. They had made them all clean headshots, as usual, to prevent the undead from getting back up. Keith opened the door to the store and was surprised to see a hubcap sitting on top of the front counter.  
"Why do you think that's there?" Keith asked Jesse, pointing to the hubcap.   
"I dunno. Maybe it was off the owner's car and he had nowhere else to put it," Jesse answered not really caring. "I'm gonna go check the phone. Probably dead like all the others." Jesse walked behind the counter and picked up the phone.  
"Ah, Mr. Mirage. Glad to hear you made it." Jesse's eyes flared with hate as he recognized the voice on the other end.  
"Trent, you gotta lot of explaining to do," Jesse growled. Keith grabbed the phone and put it on speaker so he could hear what Trent had to say.  
"Alright. You and your team were sent in to test your abilities for Umbrella. They are trying to find suitable bodies for when they synthesize their super soldier serum, but they aren't even close right now. Anyone who survives will be put into mission after mission until they have proven that they are the ones to be chosen. Kinda like volunteering for something you didn't know about," Trent said. "But there is a way out. You can join my underground resistance against Umbrella and have me get you out of there a lot faster than you would expect. What do you think?"  
Keith was the first to answer. "I'm in. Better than working for these dogs."  
Jesse pondered the idea for a moment. "Alright. I'll help fuck these guys up."  
"Excellent choice. Now you see the hubcap? Spin it and you'll find the way out." The line went dead. Keith walked over to the hubcap and spun it. He heard a grinding sound and saw the far wall open up. Jesse fished out his flashed light and connected it to his gun. Keith did the same and they entered the tunnels. They could feel the ground slope and they pointed their flashlights to the ground so they could see where they were going. At the end of the ramp was a steel door. Keith reached out and turned the knob. The door screeched open and they were greeted by the familiar stench of rotting flesh. They aimed their Magnum's in front of them, reading to blow apart anything that moved. The tunnel narrowed ahead and propped up against one of the walls was one of their teammates.  
"Donny!" Jesse called. The figure seemed to move just enough to see what was approaching. They reached him and were horrified with what they saw. His mid section had been ripped open, allowing his intestines to fall on his legs. His eyes were locked open in a sheer look of fear.   
"I though Trent said this was the easy way?" Keith questioned. They thought they had escaped. They thought that they were almost home. The only thing they do know is that they were in pitch-black tunnels, and something was down there with them.  
  
Thanks for reading. Please review. Feel free to e-mail me dareknight@hotmail.com. Read about Keith's future in Dark Nights and Nightmares; the sequel of Dark Nights. Thanks again.  
  



	4. Dead of the Night IV

Chapter 7  
  
The man had once been Donald Peled. But now all he was a lifeless corpse. The Isreali man had seemed like a nice person but that didn't matter anymore. He was dead. They were forced to move on, seeing that the only way to possibly justify his death would be to escape and get back at Umbrella. The tunnels seemed to be pretty straight forward. As they reached what they hoped to be the exit they heard the most terrifying sound possible in this city.  
" Gragggggggh!" The two immediately recognized the growl of the Tyrant. They spun and saw the Tyrant charging towards them. They both knew damn well there was no way that they could outrun it at this pace. They both trained their Magnum's at the tumour it called a heart. The rounds tore through, blood flying in all directions. The tyrant slowed it's pace a little and Keith's eyes focused on the miracle send. Propped along the wall was a gas tank. Keith shone his flashlight and pulled the trigger.  
BOOM!!  
The canister exploded and the flames erupted into the Tyrants face. It suprisingly dropped to it's knees.   
"Run for it!" Jesse screamed. They sprinted for the door and threw it open. Keith slammed it shut as soon as he was through and barred the door with a nearby steel rod. He gave it a quick pull to test it's durability and nodded to give Jesse a silent okay. They ran down the adjoining tunnel with all they had left, which wasn't much. Keith shone his flashlight infront of him to see a rusty, steel ladder leading to a manhole cover. Jesse apparently saw it to because he started to push himself a little faster than normal. Keith struglle to match his pace, his adrenalin not supporting him any longer. Jesse shuffled up the ladder as fast as his legs would thrust him upward. Keith pulled himself up the rungs with his last ounces of strength. He slid through the grate and covered the opening once through. Once he got to his feet he saw a smug grin on Jesse' face. Then he saw it. Painted above the nearest door in crisp, bold letters were the words: Umbrella Labs. Finally, in this nightmare, there was a shred of hope.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
They were in what looked to be like a parking lot outside of the Umbrella Labs. There was a large garden in the centre of the lot, obstructinng some of there view. They slowly stepped forward and looked behind some of the trees in the garden. They saw a group of zombies hunched over, munching on another of the undead. They holstered their Magnums and unstrapped their rifles. In two short bursts, one for each of them, the group of zombies had all been equally dispatched with headshots. They walked past the pile of undead corpses and tried the front gate into the Labs. Suprisingly it was open.  
"Looks like Trent did us another favour" Keith said as he trained his rifle ahead of him, ready to blow away anything that moved. He pocketed his flaslight and casually walked up to the desk, seeing as the main lobby was free of the undead masses. Jesse closed the door and walked up to meet with Keith. Keith had already started to tamper with the computer network, and appeared to be making progress. He had accesses the lock mainframe and was at the enter password screen.   
"The hell do we do now? We don't know any goddamn password!!!" Jesse slammed his clenched fist on the table in severe frustration. As Keith backed away, shaking his head in confusion.   
BEEP BEEP BEEP  
Keith grabbed for the radio hooked to his thigh. He put the frequency on the ALL setting, allowing him to scan all frequencies for who was sendin gthe message.  
"Ah Keith, glad to hear your charming voice. I suspect you've made it to the labs?" Trent voice crackled over the radio.  
"Ya, tunnels were a real help, but now we need a fucking password."KEith shouted into the microphone to stress his aggrivation.  
"Ah yes, the failsafe, try the word SPENCER" Trent said in a do-it-now tone.  
Keith walked over to the keyboard and typed in the letters. After a few seconds a mesage appeared: Access granted, locks released. Keith heard the other end of the radio go dead. He shut the radio off and turned to Jesse.  
" Son of a Bitch almost knows TOO much," Jesse said in slight suspicion.  
"Hey he got us this far. I say we just worry about getting the fuck out of here." Keith replied. Jesse nodded and they prepared themselves to face what would hopefully be the last of the Chistoval horrors. They were headed into the Lion's Den.  
  
please R&R thanks for reading. Sorry it took so long 2 update, things have been really busy with my band. Watch for the Update of "Nightmares" by my friend Terry. Thanks again. 


	5. Dead of the Night V

Chapter 9  
  
Keith and Jesse walked into the front lobby, observing every precaution possible. They approached the elevators guns raised.   
" How the hell do we know where to go? " Jesse said, openly aggravated.  
"I say we start from the first floor and move up," Keith said, already moving towards the stairwell. Jesse nodded and moved up beside Keith. They kicked open the door, unable to use the missing knob. They started moving up the stairs to the second floor. As the second floor door came into view they saw that it had been welded shut and would be impossible to open as it was now.  
"Well, that makes it easy," Keith said with a smirk. For the first time in hours they had finally caught a break. They continued upward to the third floor and found its' door in the same state as the one in that lead into the second floor.  
"Easy, yah right!" Jesse said. Keith could only groan as he looked up.  
  
  
They climbed to the 32nd floor door and were relieved to finally find one that hadn't been welded shut.   
"I know your tired, trust me so am I, but we can't let our guard down," Keith said with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Strangely this door also had a knob. All of the other doors they had found were welded shut and were missing a knob. There wasn't even a hole for a knob. As if a knob was never intended to be there. They moved down the first corridor, Magnums raised and fully loaded. They turned the corner into a half-lit hall and saw three Hunters munching on one of the undead. They opened fire simultaneously; rounds tearing through the Hunters' tough hide with ease. The green blood flew on the walls in splash, only adding to the grimness of the hall. One, two of the hunters dropped, but Jesse and Keith both ran dry. The Hunter seemed to realize this opportunity, lunging at the two mercenaries. Keith Twisted his body, letting the assault rifle fall into his hands, still slung over his shoulder. He slammed down on the trigger, releasing a burst of rounds into the Hunter's skull at point-range. The Hunter slammed back into his two comrades and started to twitch, releasing his last gasps of life.   
"Well that was a nice warm up," Keith said, reloading his Magnum.  
"Yah, but this is only the beginning of this hell hole," Jesse explained in a dim tone. They moved up to the door at the end of the hall and opened it, Magnum's raised, fingers on the trigger. They both made a quick sweep of the room, ready to blow apart anything that wasn't human. The room was clear at the moment, but there were many cabinets and cupboards that could house the undead. Keith's gaze wavered over the over thrown tables, chairs and bloody walls of the room. One thing did catch his attention. There was a single, round table console in the center of the room that hadn't been touched. Keith approached as Jesse began to cautiously open some of the cabinets and cupboards. Most of them revealed nothing at all, except for one, which housed another door.  
  
"Damn!" Jesse swore, seeing there was no knob. On the other hand the door wasn't welded shut, which probably meant that there was a way to open it, they just had to find it. "Yo, Keith come look at this thing," Jesse called, but it seemed that Keith was enthralled in the console. He kept pushing a set of six bars over and over again in a different order. Jesse left the cabinet door open and walked up beside Keith to see what was so important. Just as he was about to ask what the hell Keith was doing, he read the computer screen. The glowing letters read: Door Status-Locked. Complete Sequence. Jesse was close enough know that he could hear that dim musical tones that would play when he hit the bars. Keith seemed to be doing well in this puzzle, because he had a constant smile on his face. Keith finally looked up when the screen read: Sequence Complete-Testing Now. The volume of the tones rose and they could hear that the tones now formed a song that he had heard before. The tones ended and the screen flashed: Access Granted. Jesse heard the lock on the door click open and the door opened just enough so a person could grab the edge and open it.   
  
"What was that song...I know it from somewhere," Jesse asked, still racking his brain as to what the tune was. Keith looked right at the door and then glanced to Jesse and replied,  
  
"Highway to Hell."  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Jesse's heart skipped a beat when he heard those words. If there was one thing he learned from this experience it was that everything had a hidden meaning. He realized now that even with all the ammo and explosives they had, a message like that probably meant they weren't going to make it out alive. Keith apparently realized the same thing. He had just unholstered all of his weapons and was fully loading them. He slapped a fresh clip in his M16 and put a new speed loader in his Magnum. He felt the four bulges in his vest pockets to make sure he hadn't used any of the grenades they had found back in the city. He lowered his head and glared, long and hard at the door. He shouldered the M16 and drew his magnum. Jesse did the same, seeing it would make sense to hit the bastards with all you had before you went down. Keith approached the door and threw it open. As soon as the door opened beyond a certain point, the corridor illuminated with light. The corridor was bare, no blood and gray walls. There was a simple steel door at the end of the hall and for once in this god-forsaken shit hole it had a knob. They approached it quietly, not wanting to disturb anything on the other side. Jesse moved to one side of the walls to blast anything that came through that door before they did. Keith twisted the knob and pushed open the door. It slid silently on well-oiled hinges and gave them a view of a steel grate staircase. They moved up to the first step, looking around for any other way, making sure they didn't miss anything. The only things other than the staircase were a few broken tables, which made their selection a hell-of-a-lot easier. They marched up the staircase, hearing their boots ling on every step. When they reached the top they viewed another door. What the hell! Was there a sale at Door Depot or something??? Keith thought silently. Jesse moved up to the door while Keith stayed posted on a lower step, giving him an open shot at anything that was waiting for them. Jesse opened the door and waited a few heartbeats before stepping into the room and flipping the nearby light switch. The room was brought into light and they realized they were in the control room, which overlooked a large corridor filled with the undead.  
  
"You want the good news or the bad news first?" Jesse asked.  
  
"Gimme the bad, makes the good sound much better," Keith said, joking around.  
  
"Well the only way to go is crawling with the undead. The good news is there's a way out beyond that." Jesse said, pointing at the large bay doors at the end of the corridor. Keith seemed to be looking if there was any other alternative. After a few minutes he found it. Beyond the window they were looking out with, there was a large chain that moved over the corridor. If they could jump onto it and activate the mechanism, they could "fly" right over the undead bastards, blasting their brains in from above.   
  
"Or we could fly," Keith suggested. Jesse roared out in laughter, finding this idea funny. Keith waited until he got a hold of himself and then explained the rest of his plan. "We latch onto that chain, activate the mechanism, and go right over them, drooping Frag's and bullets right onto them." Keith explained, quite calmly. Jesse analyzed the situation and the plan and realized it just might work.   
  
"I don't know how you thought of that, and I would rather you not tell me, but let's get going," Jesse said, firing at the window, raining glass down on the zombies. Keith made a running jump for the chain and grabbed it at the last possible moment. He grabbed his knife out his boot and threw it, hilt end first, at the button that would move the chain, located beside the bay doors. The knife's end hit home and the chain started to move across the beam it was attached to. He opened fire on the groaning undead as he flew right over them, sending them into a frenzy. As his Magnum ran dry, he drew his M16 and rained down high holy shit on the undead bastards. His assault rifle went empty as the chain reached it destination. Keith jumped off and slammed the button to send the chain back for Jesse. He looked to make sure Jesse was still okay. He seemed fine, but then his gaze wandered to the staircase. Jesse was in deep trouble. Lumbering up the stairs was the Tyrant.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
The undead we're making to much noise for Keith to scream to Jesse, so all he could do was watch and pray. The chain finally reached Jesse at what seemed like a crawl and Jesse grasped it. Without giving it another moments thought, Keith slammed the switch and the chain lurched back towards him. Just as the Jesse was out of range to jump back into the control room, the Tyrant burst into the room, growling his rage. Jesse finally realized why Keith had been so quick to act. The Tyrant was hurling chairs and tables everywhere, searching for them and apparently hadn't seen them yet. But Keith had to cover Jesse. Keith pulled the Magnum's trigger until it ran dray. The rounds slammed into the Tyrant and it slowly averted its gaze to where Keith was standing. The Tyrant charged the broken window to try and leap to the moving chain, but Keith was faster.  
RATATATATATATATATATAT  
Keith's M16 fired its bullets into the Tyrant as fast as the chamber would load them.  
C'mon, C'mon, Keith thought silently. Jesse finally jumped off the chain and the solution hit Keith.  
"Jesse hold him off for another 30 seconds I have an idea," Keith said, dropping his rifle and pulling out the anti-personnel and frag grenades they had been given and found. He took off his vest after emptying out the many rounds and clips and wrapped the grenades in the clothing and tied the vest to the chain. Checking that is was secure; Keith hit the button a final time to send it back to the Tyrant. The chain moved back to the control room much faster, seeing it didn't have either of the men's weight on it. Keith picked up his rifle and waited. Jesse ran dry as the chain finally stopped at the control room.  
"Eat shit and die," Keith said under his breath. He pulled the rifle's trigger and the bullet hit home. The bullet slammed into the vest and set off the grenade. The 8 grenades triggered and sent a fiery explosion into the Tyrant's grotesque face. It reeled back and it's body came into view. It's charred corpse fell to the ground, spilling blood all over. The bastard was finally dead.  
  
Thanks for reading, I know I've been gone awhile. There will be one more update to this story, maybe 2, and then I'll work on the sequel....please r&R  
  
  
  
  
  



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